New climate-change-focused RSO hosts ‘Trump vs. Truth’ discussion

Western Herald – news

The up-and-coming registered student organization Western Michigan University Change worked with other students, professors, and community leaders to host “The Climate Crisis: Trump vs. Truth” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 22.

The discussion, which centered around science and the current administration’s dismissal of facts, was led by seven presenters in Room 157 of the Bernhard Center. The presenters included two professors, four students and Kalamazoo City Commissioner Shannon Sykes.

In addition to WMU Change, whose long-term goal is to get WMU to use 100 percent renewable energy, the event was sponsored by WMU Interdisciplinary Climate Change Working Group, WMU Humanities Center, Department of Biological Sciences and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

David Karowe, WMU professor of biological sciences and founding member of the WMU Interdisciplinary Climate Change Working Group, kicked off the conversation.

“Climate change is happening, it has not stopped; it’s, if anything, accelerating,” Karowe said. “The bottom line is, undoubtedly, the primary cause of current climate change is human activities.”

The earth’s warming is happening about 10 times faster than any natural warming in past temperature records and 97.5 percent of climate scientists agree that humans are the cause of this rapid climate change, Karowe said.

Not only is human-induced climate change causing scientists and environmentalists to call for emissions reductions, but 95 percent of leading economists agree that the United States should commit to emission reductions now, Karowe said.

Ginny Creamer, WMU freshman and member of WMU Change, presented with Karowe, reading quotes from members of the current presidential administration as Karowe explained the implications of them.

“When talking about climate change and moving forward in combating climate change, we have to talk about the political players in this game,” Creamer said.

Nicholas Miller, WMU senior and primary organizer of Change, spoke about his experience traveling to the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand, which has receded …